The first member of City Kickboxing competing on tonight’s UFC Fight Night card is Navajo Stirling, who is taking on Bruno Lopes in a three-round Light Heavyweight contest. Stirling is 3-0 in the UFC while having a perfect 8-0 overall record. Lopes is 14-2 with 11 finishes but is coming off a knockout loss to Dustin Jacoby.
Check out my best bet below for Navajo Stirling vs. Bruno Lopes, which is taking place on the Prelims of tonight’s UFC Fight Night.
Navajo Stirling To Win By KO/TKO/DQ (-175)
Stirling is teammates with Israel Adesanya, who is headlining this card against Joe Pyfer. Being able to train with the likes of Adesanya and Carlos Ulberg on a daily basis has been a huge benefit for Stirling. Stirling began his MMA career winning five of his first five fights by knockout. But he has won his previous three contests by decision. He is a powerful striker but has lacked urgency in recent fights.
In this contest, Stirling is two inches taller (6’4″ vs. 6’2″), with a five-inch reach advantage (79″ vs. 74″). That should give Stirling a massive edge in this bout as he will be able to control the distance while picking Lopes apart. Stirling is a much better striker, averaging 6.13 significant strikes per minute, compared to Lopes’ 2.81.
Stirling is a -650 favorite as Lopes is the underdog at +470 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Stirling is -175 to win by KO/TKO/DQ and +320 to pick up the victory on the judges’ scorecards. Although Stirling hasn’t been very aggressive in his last three fights, I think that changes in this contest. This is an excellent opportunity for Stirling to showcase his top-tier athleticism and striking ability. My favorite play in this bout is Stirling to win by knockout at -175.
